So excited this weekend! My sister and her family just moved back to Virginia after living in oklahoma for over almost 10 years. Feels like forever... we have like 3 get togethers planned!
Not looking forward to the candy tidal wave that will be hitting out house. I signed up for Noom a couple weeks ago and am loving it!
My husband and I both quit social media almost 3 years ago so this newsletter and feed is what keeps me relevant! Love you guys 💗
Hi all, I'm an infrequent commenter, but I almost always read through all the comments. As I continue to phase out FB (in the final phases), and am on the fence about whether I want to commit to IG as a replacement, this community has been such a breath of fresh air. :)
My treasure this week, lately, I've been working on trying to become a healthier 1w9 and/or finally in my mid-30s becoming okay with having some healthy boundaries 😆
So my treasures this week were visiting with a friend outside around a fire pit, puzzling through how we relate to our still fundamentalist families as we navigate our own post-fundamentalist faith. Exploring a new rails to trails with another friend on a rare sunny & warm Pennsylvania March day. Texting with my oldest childhood friend as we try to figure out the concept of mom jeans, what the heck kind of shirts and shoes you're supposed to wear with them, and why would I even consider buying all new shirts and shoes to wear with jeans that make my butt look gigantic anyway?
It’s 9:51PM and I’m just now diving into today’s newsletter. My kids were all here this morning so I needed to wait. I have four children and we are almost through week three of having three of them (temporarily) living with friends. My 12 yr old (multiple diagnosis) has violent meltdowns and after being denied access to her program for said violence has been home full time since. I’m so sad/mad these days. I miss my kids and sharing them with my friends has been a huge blessing (because they’re safe) and heartache because I just miss them so much. How much is too much? We all know 2020 was a sh*t storm, but it hasn’t ended for us and has actually gotten worse. Well, the worst of it (God, please say it is the worst and it doesn’t actually get worse) is that the only solution (to having my three kids home) the universe has to offer me is to surrender my oldest baby into temporary foster care. So we moved into a house that is finally big enough for all of us without tripping over each other and all of us can’t stay. What is wrong with this world?! Anyway, it’s a heavy time here and I’ve been walking Abby (12 yrs) through feeling her anger and sadness and it’s been good to say out loud what I need to hear. Feel the feelings, but safely. Ugh. I just want to hit something.
But there are treasures! I am turning 43 this year and I’m over not trying things because I’m scared, so I’m going to re-learn to roller skate! My 12 year old self would be so proud. I found a second hand pair of skates that need some wheels and TLC, but man I’m giddy! My husband, who is a strong enneagram 6, is terrified that I’m going to break myself, but falling is part of the deal. I’m sure there is a life metaphor in skating for me. One of my besties is convinced that we need a roller skating party and skating with friends feels like exactly what my broken heart needs. Besides the amount of laughing at myself will sure to bring some measure of healing.
Thank you everyone for being just the kind of people I can share it all with even though we don’t know each other yet. I’ll try to comment more here, but I’m typically a lurker. A Grateful lurker!
Also, my amazing sister (who was recently widowed in December at age 31 with two kiddos and a baby on the way) was able to put an offer in on a house five minutes from me! I would love nothing more than to have them close by. Please, please send all the T’s and P’s that they accept her offer. 🙏 She had to sell their home and they are currently in a rental. I would love for her to be settled and close by before the baby comes.
Alright. Okay. Coming in for the later crowd. (Because I sleppppt today and didn’t want it to end. 🥰)
TREASURE:
We celebrated the first birthday of my grandnephew last weekend, at an actual party with actual people. Now, none of the partygoers *ever* wear masks and have been gathering together the entire time like there is no such thing as a pandemic 😠, but Mom and I were at the 15-day mark post-vaccine so we took the chance and joined the party. (no symptoms after! 🙌🏻) I still insisted on masks for us, but we were able to sit outside to eat and watch the grandniece in the bounce house. It was just nice to join the celebration again. And the birthday boy made it all the way past the cake before tiredness took him to angry tears and a screaming bath, so it was definitely a win! 😂 [I do wonder when my niece will learn to plan her kids’ parties early in the day instead of nap times. 🤦🏻♀️]
My mom has begun shoulder rehab after her rotator cuff surgery, and though she’s grumpy about going 2-3 times per week PLUS exercises at home, the therapist says she’s already a couple weeks ahead of expected recovery. 🙌🏻 We also spent a long day at the applied psychology clinic where Mom was put through a battery of cognitive testing. She HATED every minute and said she felt illiterate because of it. ☹️ The purpose was to determine any levels of dementia or Alzheimer’s, which I guess is more for my peace of mind than anything. We won’t know results for a few weeks, so prayers are appreciated. I heard Mom on the phone with her (older) sister yesterday and both said that they don’t understand all us daughters making them see so many doctors. They both would rather we “leave them alone.” I said, “if I just left you alone, you’d sit in a recliner and shrivel up and be in pain and lose your memory. And still you wouldn’t die, so you’d be suffering in ignorance of what’s happening in your body.” Mom said, “Yes.” As if that was just fine with her. 🤦🏻♀️ Y’all. This is not the mom I once had – busy busy baker and seamstress – and I realize there’s some depression, but it’s also quite frustrating. I’m not ashamed to admit that some days I just *can’t* anymore. I just want to slap her, Moonstruck-style. (“Snap out of it!”)
more TREASURES:
We have 5 days without a single appointment. I’m just sooooo tired and it’s glorious. After sleeping the better part of two days, I’ve been able to read *and* concentrate. I finally finished CASTE last night — it took 5 library hold/loan periods but I got it done! — and I’m hoping to finish one more book before next week’s appointments. Spring/summer is my best reading time but last year’s lockdown put a real damper on it for me, so I’m happy to get some of that groove back. I need a break from all the New Yorker articles that seem to be all I can focus on right now.
The Carlos Whittaker Family miracle has been mentioned but it was truly a treasure this week. Watching God at work in people’s lives is astounding and humbling.
And, for sure, Kendra (The Lazy Genius) Adachi’s new playlist “Breezy Instrumental” was a capital T Treasure this week. It’s perfect background and was so unobtrusive that I could play it loud enough in my ears to drown out a waiting room TV — seriously, why so loud, doctor offices?!? — while still being able to focus on my reading. Kendra declared it her possible best playlist yet, and I think she’s right!
And my favorite internet treasure was this pandemic oldie of Daveed Diggs & Emmy Raver-Lampman’s home tour. I realized that my eclectic tastes can come together and still be chic. One day, when I’m alone again, I’ll lean all the way in on pattern and color and “non-matching” style.
Also, I have never loved this man more than seeing him at home. 😍 And I truly, truly love this man, so that’s saying something.
a TURD (I never say that word so you know this is seriously aggravating):
I often find myself awake in the long night hours and that’s when I binge TV that Mom doesn’t care about. Last week I watched “The Luminaries,” loved it, until it ended without a resolution. 😠 And then I realized I’d begin watching before the final episode had aired. 🤦🏻♀️ I need bingeing to be a complete experience, ya know?
Also, I thought it was a miniseries based on the book (which I’ve never gotten around to reading but now understand it’s not entirely the same story so...) but I feel like I wasted an entire night without getting a satisfactory conclusion. Ugh. I did redeem myself the next night with Dublin Murders, and I’m part way through Snowpiercer season 1, but still... It’s just frustrating to settle in for an entire season and not be rewarded with a resolution. Now I have to plan for a single hour to finish it, but I’m not in the same mood anymore so I just don’t know if I’ll care. /rant
Silver Lining: I lurve Himesh Patel with a beard and longer hair. 😍
That be it for the past week. Love seeing this place so active this past month!
Reminder: here’s the Birthday Roster if you want to add yours to the list. Love y’all!
For some reason, the newsletter dropped into my “social” email folder instead of primary. I AM SO LATE TO THE COMMENTS TODAY.
Erin, when I saw that “CHILD WITH TELESCOPE” tweet the other day, I damn near cried. So funny.
I will bring it up next week (when I am not 100 years late to the comments section) but y’all, I turn 23 on Wednesday, April 21. I know I am a baby little 23 year old, but surviving the last year, in many more ways than one, is something I want to celebrate. (Who am I kidding, I always want to celebrate big and covid RUINS THAT). So last year, I had an idea, when all the businesses were barely staying afloat - what if I encouraged all of my friends to shop at a small business on my birthday? To get coffee from there or order dinner to be delivered or buy that thing they’ve been putting off from the cute boutique down the street. I titled it #SLCLOVESSLC because my maiden name is Shelby Lee Callihan and I love Salt Lake City.
Lil Swipes, would you like to join me in celebrating my birthday? You can tag me in anything you buy or wherever you go that supports a small and local business! It was so fun to see people buying from the restaurants that needed business and tipping their servers or ordering online. I would love it if you all would join in on the fun this year!!!
It's cold but sunny here in Chicagoland, so I've repeatedly told my entire family that this is the absolute last cold day before spring and warmer weather (it's supposed to warm up next week). If I say it enough times, do you think it'll just happen and stay warm? There are too many daffodils out now for it to get cold again!
We moved our tv downstairs last week, and we've watched markedly less tv, and read a LOT more books. I'm really enjoying it! I'm about to jump into my annual reread of Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Vegetable Miracle, but otherwise, share your favorite spring reads please.
Finally, we have a small pond across the street from our house, and it has been the delight of my young children's lives to see it wake up and become lively again. We now make a daily sojourn over there to greet all the geese and the "Mr. and Mrs. Mallards" (what my children call the ducks - anyone else read Make Way for Ducklings about 1,000 times?). Today I asked my oldest if he had anything to say to the wildlife before we headed home for lunch, and he said to one goose looking in his direction "Great happening to see you today." Perhaps I'm just raising the next generation of the Kratt Brothers?!
Taking comfort in the fact that today isn't the end of the story, but mourning what had to happen and trying my hardest to sit in it, as uncomfortable as it is.
Hi - I've just. been reading all the comment threads and feeling hopeful for our vaccinated future. Loneliness was already a pre-pandemic thing, and I feel like Covid has just exasperated it all for people. Praying for community, friendship and commitment for those who have expressed loneliness.
April 15 is when I am eligible (like the rest of my state) for the vax and you better believe I am checking sites to see when they open up those days.
My little quarantine baby is turning 1 on April 13 and I am not okay about it. I don't know what my problem is but I just want him to stay little. He is just at this super sweet spot and my 2.5 year old is reminding me what the future holds. (Yesterday she lost.her.mind because I didn't fill her bowl to the brim with dry oatmeal ... not understanding that if I did that, it would be an oatmeal explosion in the microwave. "But I want ALL THE OATMEAL! ALL THE OATMEAL IN THE BOWL!" Sigh.)
I have nothing to offer in terms of interwebs joy because I have largely been off it lately, except I enjoyed this op-ed:
"Hope is much harder to come by. The women did not go to the tomb looking for hope. They were searching for a place to grieve. They wanted to be left alone in despair. The terrifying prospect of Easter is that God called these women to return to the same world that crucified Jesus with a very dangerous gift: hope in the power of God, the unending reservoir of forgiveness and an abundance of love. It would make them seem like fools. Who could believe such a thing?"
I'm also excited to read his book - the library just told me it's ready for me to pick up!
Sometimes I write nothing. Sometimes I write a lot and try to express "feelings" or whatever (hi, 5w6 I both do not want to talk about it and also bottle it up until I feel like I might die) but today I just want to tell someone that today, in a fit of nostalgia, I bought myself a sweatshirt to remind myself of my fun grad school days. Not from the school. No, I don't really care about them. I just bought a sweatshirt from the small hanger, slightly dirty, airport bar in the town over from the school where my friends and I used to hang out. and I am SO PUMPED for it. I've also been kind of sad recently (some of this has GOT to be pandemic induced) about feeling like...the fun part of my life is over? I graduated from grad school in 2014, moved to where I live now in 2015, have worked at the same place for almost 6 years. I live near my family but I am also kind of estranged from them for reasons. I keep trying to build community and friendships but stuff keeps getting in the way and I long for a time when I was in a grad program with 6 other people and we did everything together, including hang out in dirty airport bars drinking cheap beer and playing darts or pool. These weren't even particularly scandalous times just low key fun with friends who were doing exactly the same stuff I was doing. The pandemic has definitely made it all worse and enhanced this feeling of loneliness and stagnation.
Anyway...there are good things too. I love my partner and his birthday was this week. I made home made eclairs that didn't suck! I love my doggo and we hang out together every day (just kidding he is sleeping in the bedroom 100% ignoring me. My job is interesting and pays well and allowed me to buy my lovely little house. But yeah. Lack of human contact the past year has made my brain/heart long for times when my friends and I were like a pack of puppies doing everything together. *sigh*
Anyway - here's to The Windsock in Strafford CT the best airport bar around!
I'm wearing a leopard print sweater and it makes me want to call you all Cool Cats and Kittens
Oh 2020 when Tiger King was ittttttt...
It's funny, I went into the comments today with no clear intent on what to prattle on about and now I have all sorts of tabs open to reference :)
First....I was SO excited and blessed to spend last weekend with our dear Megan in a remote cozy cabin in Wisconsin. We laughed, I cried, I got umpteen snuggles from her amazing dog Mabel. We ate like queens (even though we couldn't have smores made from fire) and hiked in snow. It was affirming and fulfilling on so many levels. Megan is ...I have no words you guys. She's amazing on so many levels and I'm so blessed to know her. I'm glad I got to show her my love language of Soup and Bread. I cannot wait to have more adventures with her. It also gave me the opportunity to drive alone for hours which was powerful in its own way.
Because although I had intention to listen to so many podcasts, I kept going back to music and one artist in particular. Beth Orton. So keeping to my new pattern of giving 5 songs, here are five from Beth that I'd recommend:
1. Stolen Car
2. Stars all Seem to Weep
3. Central Reservation
4. Concrete Sky
5. Thinking About Tomorrow (this one came on during a very lovely hilly rural part of my drive and it just was gorgeous to have along with me; I sang along so happily and got teary)
Actually I could go on and on and list 10 of her songs I love. She's an artist I really leaned into 20 years ago (yikes I said that) and her music evokes a very specific time of my life.
Book treasures
Just passing along some links to deals (for Kindle) that I'd recommend
I read this book in college and now I want to reread it....it's powerful!
Now while I know folks have feelings about GoodReads, I still use it for tracking everything I read and always love more suggestions: https://www.goodreads.com/mellemo
One other odd treasure I've been leaning hard into is Peanut Butter
The two I got are no longer available (Rocky Road & Toasted Coconut) -- I keep them at work and when I'm needing a little reward, its amazing what a spoonful can do for me.
So one item for the ride of the Struggle Bus
My 14 year old and all things school. It's been ongoing but oof this year, even harder still. We had a teary conversation with Max this week about our expectations, goals, wishes. All of us cried. I quoted Hamilton. My husband explained how Generations came before us and lived so that he could have opportunities he's just dismissing. Yeah, it was a whole thing. He is back to full-time in-person school until the end of the year (unless, you know, Covid). And it's going to be a tough couple of months for him to redeem himself. And we need to plan a summer learning plan for him because otherwise his entry to high school (yikes how is my 1st born going to be a Freshman?) is going to be a rude awakening. Sooo Ts&Ps for all of this. It's really hard because I was never one to slack in school or ever have my parents second-guessing my effort, etc. 14 year old Mel was a far different person than 14 year old Max and its a lot to keep in mind.
So, I'm off to Target to see what Easter candy is left on the shelves.
this accountant is lowkey EXHAUSTED from a) life, b) bzy szn, c) thinking about having a career and having to make actual life decisions like a real grown-up. i'm coping by changing up my work routine and hanging out at a coffee shop in my neighborhood where i've been letting a very cute barista pick out my drink order for the past few days (indecision reigns!) and so far he hasn't disappointed ;)
treasure: my parents and grandmother are going to spend easter with my uncle and his family. this is a pretty big deal since my dad and his brother are basically estranged, and have been that way for a good part of my life. the whole situation has big prodigal son vibes, which can be hard to reconcile when your dad is the son who never left. there's no prize for being the child that always takes care of his parents, but don't we want that sometimes? but isn't it true that we all wander from our loving father in different ways and even though we constantly leave him, he always welcomes us back with open arms, holding no record of wrongs? all of this to say, i doubt the weekend will end in a big group hug and a sitcom ending, but the first steps are there. and i think that's enough for now.
turd: i'm kinda having a quarterlife crisis (i'm 24 oops) and am getting caught in swirling thoughts of "what am i doing with my life?" and "does it even matter when the world is on fire?" it seems like everyone around me is off on a new adventure: getting engaged, getting married, moving to a new city, etc. and i'm sitting here feeling like i'm exactly the same girl i was a year ago when this whole pandemic thing started. is it possible to be diagnosed with melancholia in 2021? asking for a friend.
i'm trying to find jesus in the waiting, and maybe y'all can too.
Oh, what would we do with out Geoffrey and Pauline, the dears? 😊 So glad they were recognized. Y'all - it has been a few (stressful) weeks since I could dip into the comments. But! It is all treasures today:
+ My husband is fully recovered from his diverticulitis flare up. Thank you, Lord.
+ He is so well, in fact, that he has been enjoying the heck out of the breakfast sandwich maker that Mel mentioned a few weeks ago. I gave it to him for his birthday, but he was too sick to use it. Now he's inventing things. 😬
+ We have had a ton of intense discussion and prayer and just general thrashing about, but have figured out some work and some life things. In the next few months, if all goes well, we hope to sell our house, move to a new county, and start a new business. The treasure is really just in the final bursting through the fog and weight and confusion. This really does feel like weve been in hard, painful labor for years and are finally giving birth. We can take deep, happy breaths at last.
+ We get our vaccines this week. My J&J is the day after Easter. And I know it is Good Friday, but I can't help feeling happy. It feels like The Longest Lent may be ending.
+ The other night my husband wanted to play me old timey romantic songs. Most of them were lovely old standards, but one was Alfalfa singing "I'm in the Mood for Love" 😁and *that* is the one I have stuck in my head, of course. It makes me laugh, though, and now the jokes on him because I take every opportunity to warble it at him Alfalfa-style. I may make it his ring tone...
My treasure this week: Realizing that Steve Irwin is my equivalent of Erin's Mr. Rogers. We watched the Crocodile Hunter a lot as a family when I was young, and I've recently rediscovered his family on IG. As an animal lover, I appreciate all the conservation work they do, and their family just seems lovely. I've always thought his relationship with Terri was special, and it is so cool that Bindi met her husband in the same way they did. I could watch old footage of Steve and his kids on YouTube for hours. I do wish I had figured this out earlier in the pandemic, because it would have made my cry hacking a lot easier.
Hello hello! It's springtime in Denver and I had an entire cup of full-strength coffee half an hour ago, so it's going to be an interesting day!
I got my first Fauci ouchie on Tuesday, and I'm finally feeling like myself today - that jab hurt like the dickens, and I had flu symptoms for two days. Nervous about that second dose in four weeks, but also looking forward to having permission to stay in bed and watch British gardening shows all day if I feel up to it.
Two of my kids are on spring break this week, and on Monday we made small trebuchets that ACTUALLY WORKED. I have a small woodworking business, so I know my way around all the tools needed to cut out and assemble the teachers, and the kids were super into the building process and adjusting the weights until they could fling a marble ten feet down the hallway. It was super fun, but before you get any ideas about my "fun mom" skills, know that the trebuchets were the high point of spring break - I tend to start slow and taper off.
I'm also finishing up building some cabinets in my living room, and they're looking pretty dang good! I'm always surprised when what is in my mind actually turns out to look good in real life. It's never guaranteed. If you want to see the trebuchet in action or the cabinets, I'm @alpineflower on IG.
Treasures: My daughter received her First Communion last night during Maundy Thursday service. It’s been a few years since I’ve attended this service and I had forgotten about the stripping of the altar at the end of the service. What a way to begin the Easter weekend- the stark reminder of an empty table after the Last Supper.
2nd Treasure- my SIL has been home from Cali with her kids and they spend every day at our house. I’m not a big loud noise, lots of ppl person and my SIL knows this. So she encourages me to take a nap, read my book or do whatever I need to do. All the while she’s sweeping my floor, burning garbage, doing dishes or whatever else she can find. Absolute treasure in my life right now.
Now the turds: I’m in healthcare in a very rural community hospital/nursing home. 3 of our residents tested covid positive this last week which is so gosh dang discouraging. I’m so sick and tired of swabbing people’s noses twice/week and seeing the residents again be put in lockdown with no in person visitors. If I may ask- say a prayer. A prayer that this new breakout is contained quickly with no deaths. Thanks all.
2nd turd: my adult hormonal acne (totally superficial I know!) but for the love- my face is worse now than as a teenager. Lord, have mercy.
That’s it for me. I thoroughly enjoy reading the newsletter each week along with the comments. Thank you for putting a smile on my face along with a reminder that others are walking the trenches too. Happy Easter weekend friends!!
So excited this weekend! My sister and her family just moved back to Virginia after living in oklahoma for over almost 10 years. Feels like forever... we have like 3 get togethers planned!
Not looking forward to the candy tidal wave that will be hitting out house. I signed up for Noom a couple weeks ago and am loving it!
My husband and I both quit social media almost 3 years ago so this newsletter and feed is what keeps me relevant! Love you guys 💗
Hi all, I'm an infrequent commenter, but I almost always read through all the comments. As I continue to phase out FB (in the final phases), and am on the fence about whether I want to commit to IG as a replacement, this community has been such a breath of fresh air. :)
My treasure this week, lately, I've been working on trying to become a healthier 1w9 and/or finally in my mid-30s becoming okay with having some healthy boundaries 😆
So my treasures this week were visiting with a friend outside around a fire pit, puzzling through how we relate to our still fundamentalist families as we navigate our own post-fundamentalist faith. Exploring a new rails to trails with another friend on a rare sunny & warm Pennsylvania March day. Texting with my oldest childhood friend as we try to figure out the concept of mom jeans, what the heck kind of shirts and shoes you're supposed to wear with them, and why would I even consider buying all new shirts and shoes to wear with jeans that make my butt look gigantic anyway?
It’s 9:51PM and I’m just now diving into today’s newsletter. My kids were all here this morning so I needed to wait. I have four children and we are almost through week three of having three of them (temporarily) living with friends. My 12 yr old (multiple diagnosis) has violent meltdowns and after being denied access to her program for said violence has been home full time since. I’m so sad/mad these days. I miss my kids and sharing them with my friends has been a huge blessing (because they’re safe) and heartache because I just miss them so much. How much is too much? We all know 2020 was a sh*t storm, but it hasn’t ended for us and has actually gotten worse. Well, the worst of it (God, please say it is the worst and it doesn’t actually get worse) is that the only solution (to having my three kids home) the universe has to offer me is to surrender my oldest baby into temporary foster care. So we moved into a house that is finally big enough for all of us without tripping over each other and all of us can’t stay. What is wrong with this world?! Anyway, it’s a heavy time here and I’ve been walking Abby (12 yrs) through feeling her anger and sadness and it’s been good to say out loud what I need to hear. Feel the feelings, but safely. Ugh. I just want to hit something.
But there are treasures! I am turning 43 this year and I’m over not trying things because I’m scared, so I’m going to re-learn to roller skate! My 12 year old self would be so proud. I found a second hand pair of skates that need some wheels and TLC, but man I’m giddy! My husband, who is a strong enneagram 6, is terrified that I’m going to break myself, but falling is part of the deal. I’m sure there is a life metaphor in skating for me. One of my besties is convinced that we need a roller skating party and skating with friends feels like exactly what my broken heart needs. Besides the amount of laughing at myself will sure to bring some measure of healing.
Thank you everyone for being just the kind of people I can share it all with even though we don’t know each other yet. I’ll try to comment more here, but I’m typically a lurker. A Grateful lurker!
This TikTok treasure made my heart so happy this week! (Sorry if it’s already been shared)
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMefRwawb/
Also, my amazing sister (who was recently widowed in December at age 31 with two kiddos and a baby on the way) was able to put an offer in on a house five minutes from me! I would love nothing more than to have them close by. Please, please send all the T’s and P’s that they accept her offer. 🙏 She had to sell their home and they are currently in a rental. I would love for her to be settled and close by before the baby comes.
Alright. Okay. Coming in for the later crowd. (Because I sleppppt today and didn’t want it to end. 🥰)
TREASURE:
We celebrated the first birthday of my grandnephew last weekend, at an actual party with actual people. Now, none of the partygoers *ever* wear masks and have been gathering together the entire time like there is no such thing as a pandemic 😠, but Mom and I were at the 15-day mark post-vaccine so we took the chance and joined the party. (no symptoms after! 🙌🏻) I still insisted on masks for us, but we were able to sit outside to eat and watch the grandniece in the bounce house. It was just nice to join the celebration again. And the birthday boy made it all the way past the cake before tiredness took him to angry tears and a screaming bath, so it was definitely a win! 😂 [I do wonder when my niece will learn to plan her kids’ parties early in the day instead of nap times. 🤦🏻♀️]
Here’s the obligatory cake shot:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CM-MtN2LFTn/?igshid=hr0xcjvbjvul
TREASURE with a side of TRASH:
My mom has begun shoulder rehab after her rotator cuff surgery, and though she’s grumpy about going 2-3 times per week PLUS exercises at home, the therapist says she’s already a couple weeks ahead of expected recovery. 🙌🏻 We also spent a long day at the applied psychology clinic where Mom was put through a battery of cognitive testing. She HATED every minute and said she felt illiterate because of it. ☹️ The purpose was to determine any levels of dementia or Alzheimer’s, which I guess is more for my peace of mind than anything. We won’t know results for a few weeks, so prayers are appreciated. I heard Mom on the phone with her (older) sister yesterday and both said that they don’t understand all us daughters making them see so many doctors. They both would rather we “leave them alone.” I said, “if I just left you alone, you’d sit in a recliner and shrivel up and be in pain and lose your memory. And still you wouldn’t die, so you’d be suffering in ignorance of what’s happening in your body.” Mom said, “Yes.” As if that was just fine with her. 🤦🏻♀️ Y’all. This is not the mom I once had – busy busy baker and seamstress – and I realize there’s some depression, but it’s also quite frustrating. I’m not ashamed to admit that some days I just *can’t* anymore. I just want to slap her, Moonstruck-style. (“Snap out of it!”)
more TREASURES:
We have 5 days without a single appointment. I’m just sooooo tired and it’s glorious. After sleeping the better part of two days, I’ve been able to read *and* concentrate. I finally finished CASTE last night — it took 5 library hold/loan periods but I got it done! — and I’m hoping to finish one more book before next week’s appointments. Spring/summer is my best reading time but last year’s lockdown put a real damper on it for me, so I’m happy to get some of that groove back. I need a break from all the New Yorker articles that seem to be all I can focus on right now.
The Carlos Whittaker Family miracle has been mentioned but it was truly a treasure this week. Watching God at work in people’s lives is astounding and humbling.
Here’s the story. be blessed: https://www.instagram.com/s/aGlnaGxpZ2h0OjE3OTAxMDM4MDAyODEyNjc2?igshid=plnp30z2etzk
And, for sure, Kendra (The Lazy Genius) Adachi’s new playlist “Breezy Instrumental” was a capital T Treasure this week. It’s perfect background and was so unobtrusive that I could play it loud enough in my ears to drown out a waiting room TV — seriously, why so loud, doctor offices?!? — while still being able to focus on my reading. Kendra declared it her possible best playlist yet, and I think she’s right!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7CThV8UuoWQbvjH6LFG6SE?si=MQCt-A4gSlikonToRYa9VQ
And my favorite internet treasure was this pandemic oldie of Daveed Diggs & Emmy Raver-Lampman’s home tour. I realized that my eclectic tastes can come together and still be chic. One day, when I’m alone again, I’ll lean all the way in on pattern and color and “non-matching” style.
Also, I have never loved this man more than seeing him at home. 😍 And I truly, truly love this man, so that’s saying something.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKUyX7cjum4
a TURD (I never say that word so you know this is seriously aggravating):
I often find myself awake in the long night hours and that’s when I binge TV that Mom doesn’t care about. Last week I watched “The Luminaries,” loved it, until it ended without a resolution. 😠 And then I realized I’d begin watching before the final episode had aired. 🤦🏻♀️ I need bingeing to be a complete experience, ya know?
Also, I thought it was a miniseries based on the book (which I’ve never gotten around to reading but now understand it’s not entirely the same story so...) but I feel like I wasted an entire night without getting a satisfactory conclusion. Ugh. I did redeem myself the next night with Dublin Murders, and I’m part way through Snowpiercer season 1, but still... It’s just frustrating to settle in for an entire season and not be rewarded with a resolution. Now I have to plan for a single hour to finish it, but I’m not in the same mood anymore so I just don’t know if I’ll care. /rant
Silver Lining: I lurve Himesh Patel with a beard and longer hair. 😍
That be it for the past week. Love seeing this place so active this past month!
Reminder: here’s the Birthday Roster if you want to add yours to the list. Love y’all!
http://bit.ly/lil-swipes-birthdays
For some reason, the newsletter dropped into my “social” email folder instead of primary. I AM SO LATE TO THE COMMENTS TODAY.
Erin, when I saw that “CHILD WITH TELESCOPE” tweet the other day, I damn near cried. So funny.
I will bring it up next week (when I am not 100 years late to the comments section) but y’all, I turn 23 on Wednesday, April 21. I know I am a baby little 23 year old, but surviving the last year, in many more ways than one, is something I want to celebrate. (Who am I kidding, I always want to celebrate big and covid RUINS THAT). So last year, I had an idea, when all the businesses were barely staying afloat - what if I encouraged all of my friends to shop at a small business on my birthday? To get coffee from there or order dinner to be delivered or buy that thing they’ve been putting off from the cute boutique down the street. I titled it #SLCLOVESSLC because my maiden name is Shelby Lee Callihan and I love Salt Lake City.
Lil Swipes, would you like to join me in celebrating my birthday? You can tag me in anything you buy or wherever you go that supports a small and local business! It was so fun to see people buying from the restaurants that needed business and tipping their servers or ordering online. I would love it if you all would join in on the fun this year!!!
Happy Friday friends!!!
It's cold but sunny here in Chicagoland, so I've repeatedly told my entire family that this is the absolute last cold day before spring and warmer weather (it's supposed to warm up next week). If I say it enough times, do you think it'll just happen and stay warm? There are too many daffodils out now for it to get cold again!
We moved our tv downstairs last week, and we've watched markedly less tv, and read a LOT more books. I'm really enjoying it! I'm about to jump into my annual reread of Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Vegetable Miracle, but otherwise, share your favorite spring reads please.
Finally, we have a small pond across the street from our house, and it has been the delight of my young children's lives to see it wake up and become lively again. We now make a daily sojourn over there to greet all the geese and the "Mr. and Mrs. Mallards" (what my children call the ducks - anyone else read Make Way for Ducklings about 1,000 times?). Today I asked my oldest if he had anything to say to the wildlife before we headed home for lunch, and he said to one goose looking in his direction "Great happening to see you today." Perhaps I'm just raising the next generation of the Kratt Brothers?!
Taking comfort in the fact that today isn't the end of the story, but mourning what had to happen and trying my hardest to sit in it, as uncomfortable as it is.
Happy Easter to everyone!!!
Hi - I've just. been reading all the comment threads and feeling hopeful for our vaccinated future. Loneliness was already a pre-pandemic thing, and I feel like Covid has just exasperated it all for people. Praying for community, friendship and commitment for those who have expressed loneliness.
April 15 is when I am eligible (like the rest of my state) for the vax and you better believe I am checking sites to see when they open up those days.
My little quarantine baby is turning 1 on April 13 and I am not okay about it. I don't know what my problem is but I just want him to stay little. He is just at this super sweet spot and my 2.5 year old is reminding me what the future holds. (Yesterday she lost.her.mind because I didn't fill her bowl to the brim with dry oatmeal ... not understanding that if I did that, it would be an oatmeal explosion in the microwave. "But I want ALL THE OATMEAL! ALL THE OATMEAL IN THE BOWL!" Sigh.)
I have nothing to offer in terms of interwebs joy because I have largely been off it lately, except I enjoyed this op-ed:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/02/opinion/easter-celebration.html
"Hope is much harder to come by. The women did not go to the tomb looking for hope. They were searching for a place to grieve. They wanted to be left alone in despair. The terrifying prospect of Easter is that God called these women to return to the same world that crucified Jesus with a very dangerous gift: hope in the power of God, the unending reservoir of forgiveness and an abundance of love. It would make them seem like fools. Who could believe such a thing?"
I'm also excited to read his book - the library just told me it's ready for me to pick up!
Good Friday - if you follow it - to you all.
Good afternoon, friends!
💫 I am officially on spring break. 🙌🏼 I’m reveling in the no alarms, being able to talk without a mask, and comfy pants.
💫 I got my second vaccine dose yesterday. It’s no joke.
Not a lot to say, just thankful we’re all here together. ❤️
Sometimes I write nothing. Sometimes I write a lot and try to express "feelings" or whatever (hi, 5w6 I both do not want to talk about it and also bottle it up until I feel like I might die) but today I just want to tell someone that today, in a fit of nostalgia, I bought myself a sweatshirt to remind myself of my fun grad school days. Not from the school. No, I don't really care about them. I just bought a sweatshirt from the small hanger, slightly dirty, airport bar in the town over from the school where my friends and I used to hang out. and I am SO PUMPED for it. I've also been kind of sad recently (some of this has GOT to be pandemic induced) about feeling like...the fun part of my life is over? I graduated from grad school in 2014, moved to where I live now in 2015, have worked at the same place for almost 6 years. I live near my family but I am also kind of estranged from them for reasons. I keep trying to build community and friendships but stuff keeps getting in the way and I long for a time when I was in a grad program with 6 other people and we did everything together, including hang out in dirty airport bars drinking cheap beer and playing darts or pool. These weren't even particularly scandalous times just low key fun with friends who were doing exactly the same stuff I was doing. The pandemic has definitely made it all worse and enhanced this feeling of loneliness and stagnation.
Anyway...there are good things too. I love my partner and his birthday was this week. I made home made eclairs that didn't suck! I love my doggo and we hang out together every day (just kidding he is sleeping in the bedroom 100% ignoring me. My job is interesting and pays well and allowed me to buy my lovely little house. But yeah. Lack of human contact the past year has made my brain/heart long for times when my friends and I were like a pack of puppies doing everything together. *sigh*
Anyway - here's to The Windsock in Strafford CT the best airport bar around!
Good morning from sunny Minnesota!
I'm wearing a leopard print sweater and it makes me want to call you all Cool Cats and Kittens
Oh 2020 when Tiger King was ittttttt...
It's funny, I went into the comments today with no clear intent on what to prattle on about and now I have all sorts of tabs open to reference :)
First....I was SO excited and blessed to spend last weekend with our dear Megan in a remote cozy cabin in Wisconsin. We laughed, I cried, I got umpteen snuggles from her amazing dog Mabel. We ate like queens (even though we couldn't have smores made from fire) and hiked in snow. It was affirming and fulfilling on so many levels. Megan is ...I have no words you guys. She's amazing on so many levels and I'm so blessed to know her. I'm glad I got to show her my love language of Soup and Bread. I cannot wait to have more adventures with her. It also gave me the opportunity to drive alone for hours which was powerful in its own way.
Because although I had intention to listen to so many podcasts, I kept going back to music and one artist in particular. Beth Orton. So keeping to my new pattern of giving 5 songs, here are five from Beth that I'd recommend:
1. Stolen Car
2. Stars all Seem to Weep
3. Central Reservation
4. Concrete Sky
5. Thinking About Tomorrow (this one came on during a very lovely hilly rural part of my drive and it just was gorgeous to have along with me; I sang along so happily and got teary)
Actually I could go on and on and list 10 of her songs I love. She's an artist I really leaned into 20 years ago (yikes I said that) and her music evokes a very specific time of my life.
Book treasures
Just passing along some links to deals (for Kindle) that I'd recommend
1. The Sullivan Street Bakery Cookbook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XH3N2R4?_bbid=18351363&tag=bookbubemail1-20
I LOVE the Jim Lahey method of bread baking.
2. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003OYIA9M?ref=exp_annebogel_dp_vv_d
I read this book in college and now I want to reread it....it's powerful!
Now while I know folks have feelings about GoodReads, I still use it for tracking everything I read and always love more suggestions: https://www.goodreads.com/mellemo
One other odd treasure I've been leaning hard into is Peanut Butter
I bought two flavors from this company --> https://nerdynuts.com/collections/all-flavors
The two I got are no longer available (Rocky Road & Toasted Coconut) -- I keep them at work and when I'm needing a little reward, its amazing what a spoonful can do for me.
So one item for the ride of the Struggle Bus
My 14 year old and all things school. It's been ongoing but oof this year, even harder still. We had a teary conversation with Max this week about our expectations, goals, wishes. All of us cried. I quoted Hamilton. My husband explained how Generations came before us and lived so that he could have opportunities he's just dismissing. Yeah, it was a whole thing. He is back to full-time in-person school until the end of the year (unless, you know, Covid). And it's going to be a tough couple of months for him to redeem himself. And we need to plan a summer learning plan for him because otherwise his entry to high school (yikes how is my 1st born going to be a Freshman?) is going to be a rude awakening. Sooo Ts&Ps for all of this. It's really hard because I was never one to slack in school or ever have my parents second-guessing my effort, etc. 14 year old Mel was a far different person than 14 year old Max and its a lot to keep in mind.
So, I'm off to Target to see what Easter candy is left on the shelves.
And to get a salad.
Because balance.
Love to all,
Mel
good morning from texas lil swipes!!!
this accountant is lowkey EXHAUSTED from a) life, b) bzy szn, c) thinking about having a career and having to make actual life decisions like a real grown-up. i'm coping by changing up my work routine and hanging out at a coffee shop in my neighborhood where i've been letting a very cute barista pick out my drink order for the past few days (indecision reigns!) and so far he hasn't disappointed ;)
treasure: my parents and grandmother are going to spend easter with my uncle and his family. this is a pretty big deal since my dad and his brother are basically estranged, and have been that way for a good part of my life. the whole situation has big prodigal son vibes, which can be hard to reconcile when your dad is the son who never left. there's no prize for being the child that always takes care of his parents, but don't we want that sometimes? but isn't it true that we all wander from our loving father in different ways and even though we constantly leave him, he always welcomes us back with open arms, holding no record of wrongs? all of this to say, i doubt the weekend will end in a big group hug and a sitcom ending, but the first steps are there. and i think that's enough for now.
turd: i'm kinda having a quarterlife crisis (i'm 24 oops) and am getting caught in swirling thoughts of "what am i doing with my life?" and "does it even matter when the world is on fire?" it seems like everyone around me is off on a new adventure: getting engaged, getting married, moving to a new city, etc. and i'm sitting here feeling like i'm exactly the same girl i was a year ago when this whole pandemic thing started. is it possible to be diagnosed with melancholia in 2021? asking for a friend.
i'm trying to find jesus in the waiting, and maybe y'all can too.
despite it all, today is a good friday indeed.
tentatively,
camille
Oh, what would we do with out Geoffrey and Pauline, the dears? 😊 So glad they were recognized. Y'all - it has been a few (stressful) weeks since I could dip into the comments. But! It is all treasures today:
+ My husband is fully recovered from his diverticulitis flare up. Thank you, Lord.
+ He is so well, in fact, that he has been enjoying the heck out of the breakfast sandwich maker that Mel mentioned a few weeks ago. I gave it to him for his birthday, but he was too sick to use it. Now he's inventing things. 😬
+ We have had a ton of intense discussion and prayer and just general thrashing about, but have figured out some work and some life things. In the next few months, if all goes well, we hope to sell our house, move to a new county, and start a new business. The treasure is really just in the final bursting through the fog and weight and confusion. This really does feel like weve been in hard, painful labor for years and are finally giving birth. We can take deep, happy breaths at last.
+ We get our vaccines this week. My J&J is the day after Easter. And I know it is Good Friday, but I can't help feeling happy. It feels like The Longest Lent may be ending.
+ The other night my husband wanted to play me old timey romantic songs. Most of them were lovely old standards, but one was Alfalfa singing "I'm in the Mood for Love" 😁and *that* is the one I have stuck in my head, of course. It makes me laugh, though, and now the jokes on him because I take every opportunity to warble it at him Alfalfa-style. I may make it his ring tone...
Blessed Good Friday, Lil Swipes!
My treasure this week: Realizing that Steve Irwin is my equivalent of Erin's Mr. Rogers. We watched the Crocodile Hunter a lot as a family when I was young, and I've recently rediscovered his family on IG. As an animal lover, I appreciate all the conservation work they do, and their family just seems lovely. I've always thought his relationship with Terri was special, and it is so cool that Bindi met her husband in the same way they did. I could watch old footage of Steve and his kids on YouTube for hours. I do wish I had figured this out earlier in the pandemic, because it would have made my cry hacking a lot easier.
Hello hello! It's springtime in Denver and I had an entire cup of full-strength coffee half an hour ago, so it's going to be an interesting day!
I got my first Fauci ouchie on Tuesday, and I'm finally feeling like myself today - that jab hurt like the dickens, and I had flu symptoms for two days. Nervous about that second dose in four weeks, but also looking forward to having permission to stay in bed and watch British gardening shows all day if I feel up to it.
Two of my kids are on spring break this week, and on Monday we made small trebuchets that ACTUALLY WORKED. I have a small woodworking business, so I know my way around all the tools needed to cut out and assemble the teachers, and the kids were super into the building process and adjusting the weights until they could fling a marble ten feet down the hallway. It was super fun, but before you get any ideas about my "fun mom" skills, know that the trebuchets were the high point of spring break - I tend to start slow and taper off.
I'm also finishing up building some cabinets in my living room, and they're looking pretty dang good! I'm always surprised when what is in my mind actually turns out to look good in real life. It's never guaranteed. If you want to see the trebuchet in action or the cabinets, I'm @alpineflower on IG.
First time commenter today 👋 Morning y’all!
Treasures: My daughter received her First Communion last night during Maundy Thursday service. It’s been a few years since I’ve attended this service and I had forgotten about the stripping of the altar at the end of the service. What a way to begin the Easter weekend- the stark reminder of an empty table after the Last Supper.
2nd Treasure- my SIL has been home from Cali with her kids and they spend every day at our house. I’m not a big loud noise, lots of ppl person and my SIL knows this. So she encourages me to take a nap, read my book or do whatever I need to do. All the while she’s sweeping my floor, burning garbage, doing dishes or whatever else she can find. Absolute treasure in my life right now.
Now the turds: I’m in healthcare in a very rural community hospital/nursing home. 3 of our residents tested covid positive this last week which is so gosh dang discouraging. I’m so sick and tired of swabbing people’s noses twice/week and seeing the residents again be put in lockdown with no in person visitors. If I may ask- say a prayer. A prayer that this new breakout is contained quickly with no deaths. Thanks all.
2nd turd: my adult hormonal acne (totally superficial I know!) but for the love- my face is worse now than as a teenager. Lord, have mercy.
That’s it for me. I thoroughly enjoy reading the newsletter each week along with the comments. Thank you for putting a smile on my face along with a reminder that others are walking the trenches too. Happy Easter weekend friends!!